Elementary Schools in Pickens County

The three elementary schools in Pickens County, Alabama—Gordo Elementary School, Aliceville Elementary School, and Reform Elementary School—serve grades PK-6 (Reform through 4th grade) in a rural, economically diverse area where the district ranks in the bottom 27% of Alabama districts.

Gordo Elementary School is the clear standout, earning a 3-star rating and ranking in the 64th percentile statewide. It outperforms the other two schools in nearly every subject, with English proficiency at 73.1% and math at 37.2%, both well above its peers. Notably, Gordo achieves these results while spending the least per student ($7,903) and having the lowest poverty rate (59%). In contrast, Aliceville Elementary School struggles significantly, with a 1-star rating, 24th percentile ranking, and proficiency rates of just 49% in English and 18% in math—the lowest in the district. Reform Elementary School sits in the middle, improving to a 32nd percentile ranking, but shows extreme volatility due to its small size (174 students), with math scores swinging from 43.75% in 3rd grade to just 18.42% in 4th grade.

One bright spot across all three schools is chronic absenteeism, which ranges from 5.0% to 7.1%—far below the state average of 12.0%. However, a concerning pattern emerges in math: proficiency drops sharply as students advance, with Gordo falling from 41.67% in 3rd grade to 21.33% in 5th grade, and Reform dropping 25 points between 3rd and 4th grade. English is a relative strength district-wide, while math is the critical weakness. Interestingly, Aliceville Elementary School showed promise in science, improving from 14.55% to 35.71% proficiency in 4th grade. Despite Reform Elementary School having the most favorable student-teacher ratio (15.4:1) and highest spending ($11,280 per student), it does not outperform Gordo, suggesting that resource allocation alone doesn't drive success. For parents, Gordo offers the strongest academics, while Aliceville faces the greatest challenges, and Reform's small size makes year-to-year comparisons less reliable.